PATNA: There could not be a greater contrast between the Sad bhavan Rally at the Gandhi

Maidan here which was attended by about five lakh people and the one and half lakh odd crowd that Lal Krishna Advani drew Feb.7 at the same place.

Most of those who turned up to listen to the emissary of Lord Ram and the future Prime Minister, as he was repeatedly hailed, belonged to segments who remain indoors when the Left Front, IPF or the Janata Dal hold rallies. They were the white collared people, the professionals urban housewives and traders along with jean clad youth.

The BJP attempted to appropriate both the Father of the Nation as well as Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan. Enthusiastic BJP workers put a saffron bandana round the forehead of Mahatma Gandhi’s Statue and a BJP flag was crudely tied to the spectacles on the statue of IP. Ironically, the statue of Mahatma Gandhi had its back to the leaders speaking of Hindutva. The villagers, who flocked to the Gandhi Maidan last month, braving the biting cold, were understandably more interested in sightseeing than in listening to the speeches, But Sunday the BJP brigade stood there to listen to speeches which were far more eloquent and purposeful than the ones at the Sadbhavan Rally.

The disappointment of a section of the militant Hindu youth over the “vegetarian” speeches of Advani sums up the dilemma of the BJP leader during his two day visit to Bihar over the weekend. The visit, he had declared at Gaya, was meant to promote communal harmony. During the course of his speeches he steered clear of controversies and indeed refrained from making any reference to “Mohammadi Hindus” as he would like Muslims to be known.

Instead, Advani tied to please everyone, At Hazaribagh and Ranchi he harped on his party’s Support to the Vananchal state, which is to be created through bifurcation of Bihar. At Darbhanga, in the heart of Mithilanchal, he declared that Ayodhya had emotional bonds with Mithla, birthplace of Lord Ram’s consort. In between he lashed out at the Bihar chief minister, Laloo Prasad Yadav, and demanded his dismissal for bad governance of the state.

Significantly, Advani drew only moderate crowds on the first day at Gaya, Hazaribagh and Ranchi. While the BJP explained it away as general apprehension of trouble, there were other factors at work. For one, Advani failed to storm Laloo’s Bihar and the backwards and Muslims chose to stay away. The BJP tried to project Yadav leaders, like Jagadambi Prasad Yadav, Janardan Yadav and a relative lightweight, Nand Kishore Yadav, who shared the platform with Advani and also spoke.

Where Advani did succeed was in demonstrating the sway of Hindutva over the urban, Hindu middle class. Upper caste support to the BJP was also very much in evidence.

Article extracted from this publication >>  February 12, 1993